Where to Find Metal salvage in Subnautica: Below Zero

Metal salvage is likeliest in Lily Pads (about 54.3 spawns per new game there). Most modelled spawns lie between -268 m and -88 m (negative is below sea level), and the files pin 31 fixed spots on the map.

Data: Subnautica: Below Zero game files (build of 12 Aug 2025), read and drawn by PinDrop. (c) Unknown Worlds Entertainment. PinDrop is fan-made and not affiliated with Unknown Worlds Entertainment.

Open the chance map
Fixed pin (31)The haze in the resource colour shows where the model says a spawn is likelier, not where one is in your save.
Open on the full mapAll fixed metal salvage pins on the mapCompare with the other resources

Where to find Metal salvage: areas ranked

Top 2 areas by expected spawns per new game, then the share of that area's spawn slots that can hold metal salvage.

Expected spawns per game
90.1
Fixed pins in the files
31
Depth band (metres)

10%: -268 m · median: -228 m · 90%: -88 m

Areas where Metal salvage can spawn
RankAreaShare of area slotsChance per eligible slotExpected per game
1Lily Pads1.5%2.0%54.3
2Purple Vents4.7%1.6%35.8

A model read from the game's code and data (EntitySlot spawner tables, 921,892 baked slots), not verified in a running game; it shows where a resource CAN spawn, not where it is in your save.

How Metal salvage appears

Forms of Metal salvage in the game files
Name in the gameFormFile id
Metal salvageItem you pick upScrapMetal

The files name no tool for this resource, so none is given here. Outcrop and item forms come from the spawn-table ids (Breakable, Drillable, or the item itself).

Fixed metal salvage pins (31)

Objects the files place at set coordinates. Depth in metres: negative is below sea level. Each row opens that pin on the full map.

Fixed Metal salvage pins
PinAreaDepth (m)PositionMap
Metal salvageThermal Spires-63x -328, z -900Show on map
Metal salvageThermal Spires-62x -326, z -900Show on map
Metal salvagePurple Vents-92x 77, z -879Show on map
Metal salvagePurple Vents-105x 83, z -873Show on map
Metal salvagePurple Vents-100x 50, z -889Show on map
Metal salvagePurple Vents-93x 75, z -863Show on map
Metal salvagePurple Vents-105x 79, z -878Show on map
Metal salvagePurple Vents-96x 62, z -865Show on map
Metal salvagePurple Vents-96x 78, z -868Show on map
Metal salvagePurple Vents-89x 78, z -870Show on map
Metal salvagePurple Vents-92x 46, z -867Show on map
Metal salvagePurple Vents-100x 57, z -875Show on map
Show the other 19 pins
More fixed Metal salvage pins
PinAreaDepth (m)PositionMap
Metal salvagePurple Vents-92x 43, z -869Show on map
Metal salvageLily Pads-289x 252, z -1299Show on map
Metal salvageLily Pads-287x 250, z -1303Show on map
Metal salvageLily Pads-271x 256, z -1300Show on map
Metal salvageLily Pads-270x 262, z -1298Show on map
Metal salvageLily Pads-270x 261, z -1286Show on map
Metal salvageLily Pads-260x 239, z -1298Show on map
Metal salvageLily Pads-237x 270, z -1264Show on map
Metal salvageLily Pads-238x 291, z -1288Show on map
Metal salvageLily Pads-230x 260, z -1253Show on map
Metal salvageLily Pads-249x 264, z -1280Show on map
Metal salvageLily Pads-250x 265, z -1285Show on map
Metal salvageLily Pads-249x 269, z -1283Show on map
Metal salvageLily Pads-256x 242, z -1280Show on map
Metal salvageLily Pads-238x 296, z -1294Show on map
Metal salvageLily Pads-253x 236, z -1268Show on map
Metal salvageLily Pads-251x 239, z -1265Show on map
Metal salvagePurple Vents-163x 462, z -639Show on map
Metal salvagePurple Vents-162x 465, z -639Show on map

What Metal salvage is used in

1 named recipe in the game files uses metal salvage as an ingredient.

  • Titanium

    needs 1 · Fabricator, Centrifuge, Seatruck Fabricator Module

All recipes are on the crafting page.

About Metal salvage in Subnautica: Below Zero

Metal salvage has 2 areas in the spawn model, led by Lily Pads with about 54.3 expected spawns per new game. In the model 10% of its spawns lie deeper than -268 m and 10% shallower than -88 m, with the median at -228 m (negative is below sea level). The game files also place 31 fixed pins, listed above.

The chance model is built from the game's own spawn tables, so it shows where metal salvage can appear, not where it sits in your save. For the other ores see the resource chance table; blueprints that unlock recipes are on the blueprints page.

A model read from the game's code and data (EntitySlot spawner tables, 921,892 baked slots), not verified in a running game; it shows where a resource CAN spawn, not where it is in your save.